{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Tangents by Out of Architecture","title":"From Practice to Professional Impact: Serving the Profession Beyond Practice with Rachel Gresham","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2641,"description":"In this episode, Silvia sits down with Rachel Gresham, Senior Director of Professional Practice Programs at the AIA, whose career has moved from architectural practice into shaping how architects think about business, leadership, and the profession itself. \nAfter roughly a decade in practice, including managing about $80 million in public safety and K–12 construction projects, Rachel pursued an MBA while working full time and began questioning not design, but the systems surrounding architectural work. She shares what burnout looked like when she was surviving “minute by minute,” why changing environments became essential to her recovery, and how mentors helped her recognize a role that combined architecture, business, and service. \nHighlights:\n3 words: Intentional, Service-Oriented, Artistic\nWhen the Problem Isn’t Architecture Itself: Rachel loved practicing architecture, but the frustrations that pushed her toward change had less to do with design and more to do with how architecture businesses operate. That realization eventually led her to pursue an MBA and focus on the business side of the profession.\nBuilding a Career by Playing Chess, Not Checkers: Rachel describes major career decisions as intentional moves that build on one another. Her decade of architectural practice and business education ultimately converged in a role where she develops programs and resources to bring greater business acumen to architects.\nBurnout as a Systems Problem: After working full time while completing her MBA, Rachel reached a point where she was surviving “minute by minute.” Studying organizational behavior helped her recognize that workload and burnout are not always individual failures to manage time or set boundaries; sometimes the limits are built into the system itself.\nFinding the Right System: Rachel compares workplaces to a pinball machine: you may have freedom to move around, but eventually you encounter the walls. Her question for architects is not simply whether...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/LFgtK9qMKWQAYTWftATdQi_aagYUpNocMGX20yTuPUI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzMyOTY1LzE2Njcy/ODQwOTUtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}